Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1887-07-22

down to Us |. 600 feet straight and over
| three Hundred feet further in the drift
| Pretty soon the air that drove the dia-
mond drills stopped. Then we did get
scared. Bill Bcnthan went down to the
waters edge again and simply said.
She's comm up. bows. Where's the
cold-air pipe?' We cut off the diamond
drill connection. and my God! what n
grateful blast of air. Thank God'
said Bill, the blower is going. Come
up here, boys, and get some breath. ,
We four sat around the air-ppe, and
our noses clung to it in turn. l dare
not tell you what we all talked about
Nobody expected to go out alive. Bill.
the boss. once took pick and said
he'd smash the brains of two of Us if
the other would kill him and then kill
himself Then Bill suggested that so
long as strength held out we drill on
one of the unfinished holes. load it with
giant, and all 90 up in balloon to-
gether. The idea was accepted. and
jim Allen began to work hand drill
The rest of us sat there with our noses
to the air-pipe. Pretty soon / heard a
click on the pipe. 1t was 'tap-tap.
picked up a hammer and hit the. pipe
three times. Back came the answer
three taps. / shouted, Boys, they
know we're heren How we yelled and
danced! We huddled around that
air pipe and every ten seconds or so.
'click-click came the echo of the ham,
mer. We replied. They didn't exactly
know who we were down there. and SO
in the hope that one of us might under
stand telegraph signals they sent
and got an opeartor from the telegraph
Office, and he banged away with the
signals. but we didn't understand it..
The most joyous sound on earth for
the hours we were imprisoned
there was the sound of that click -click'
over the pipe. 1t was simply the
signal OF hope We did not know
what the trouble was, but that click
click assured Us that Superintendent
Boyle was doing all be could. Fortu-
nately, W. had candles. and were not
in the darkness. We had some to-
bacco but could only crew it. Air was
too precious to indulge in smoke. We
did have great tub of ice, and how
we treasured it is it Melted The draft
was insuiftrably hot, but We kept our
noses TO the pipe and breathed the pure
air forced down. We learned after
ward how excited the whole Pacific
Coast was at our fate Women came
and kneeled at that little lower engine
and prayed heaven that it would not
break. 1t did not. Ii it is possible
for man to love piece OF machinery
love that Little brown dish that sent
a current of life giving air to Us over
1000 feet That little engine is run
ming at the Alta Nine to-day, and I'll
cit off the train at Reno any time to go
over and see it.
well, we were Gagged up there sixty
hours without anything to eat The
ice went in ten hours. so we had to
drink the hot water from the drift.
But we kept banging away at the pipe
with our signals. And all night an d
all day those faithful fellows on top
stood and clicked clicked away to en-
courage US
what was the cause of the delay?"
"They had to send to San Francisco
for machinery TO repair the pump
They sent special engine, had the
foundry work all night, had the piece
sent up by another special eng ne. and
after three days of mortal anguish and
arvation-nearly three days of hope
less entombmcnt quarter of a mile be-
low the earth's surfacc-we were res
cued.
The click along the pipe had been
well kept up but in the last few hours
they came with rattle Then we
knew the end was near. "Bll, - the
boss, took his ear from the pipe aud he
said: "Goatch. | believe she workin', "
meaning the big pump. He darted
down the inclined cross-cut and thel e
came yell of delight that nearly froze
us. "She's workin', boys; she's workin.
The water is goin down. There you,
Goatch, jam your ear to the pipe. and
see if YOU can hear it ~ iammed my
ear up. and sure enough could just
catch the throb. throb of the big
engine. Iyclled. "All right, b il. she :
workin'." and then the click along the
pipe came faster than ever. We knew
we were saved "Down on your knees,
boys - said Bill. You don't deserve
to live if you don't" And we foui
knceled there. We didn't say much,
but ] can tell YOU we meant it.
ut took three or tour hours to pump
out the shaft and Dir #. BY that time
we had burned up nearly our last
candle. and we had had nothing to eat
all the period. But the big pump held
to its work and just as soon as the